The Diary of Second Lieutenant Carlo Casolari, Part Four

February 3rd seems one of the usual days. A nice sun. A three-engined transport aircraft flies over our heads. Suddenly we realize it is falling. It crashes on the hill, three kilometres from us. I immediately take two of my men and running, panting, we rush to the spot. No one is nearby, only later do we find the enemies. Of the crew one is wounded and two, it seems, have fleed no one knows where. There is also one dead. (…) they are British, shot down by our AA.

In the evening, as if to celebrate, they brought us pasta.

 

The next day, I go back to the plane. The burned man is still in the wreckage. The others saved themselves, only the sergeant-radio operator was wounded. This is what I remember: I take away an oil pump.

The downed British plane becomes a diversion for an airplane enthusiast. I repeatedly skip inspections of the 105 [battery] and keep retrieving parts. I find a compressor, the cylinder of the compressor engine, a hydraulic jack. I don’t think there is anything else left. While removing that, I deeply cut two of my fingers.

 

The Sicilian winter is annoying. It rains often and the wind blows, it’s not cold, but humidity resembles that of the Tropics. (…) On Monday 8, early in the morning, I set out for the Group, I am very nervous. I leave on my bike. Before I can go very far, a British plane strafes us, two of ours are wounded. AA returned fire. I can’t do much except going back. One of our soldiers is dead. (…)

 

These are difficult days, I again came down with the gooddamned malaria. Fever and injections of quinine. I spend my days sweating, and often pass out. Damn muschitte [mosquitoes]. (…) At the 105, in the meantime, the new camouflage has been completed. A distraction, when the fever goes away, is provided by the feasts with the shepherd and by meeting the new battery commander, Colonel Manetta.

One night I felt the heart speeding up for a few seconds with a final beat, heavier, delayed.

 

On 17 February the first swallow appears. It is a sign that seals a good help from reborn Captain Raimondi: “Serious, respectful, faithful to his duty. Has good influence on his subordinates. Good general culture”. This is a summary of the personal report on me, from 15 September to 14 December.

My 105 [mm gun] needs to be moved. We get to work, in three days we build the new emplacement. “Wanna go on leave?”, the Colonel asked me, “then knuckle down”.

(Taken and freely translated from https://www.yumpu.com/user/grigioverde.org)